At the 23rd AGM, 42 people were in attendance. Maureen Spinks was re-elected as Chairman and Shirley Tutton as Secretary. No one stepped forward to take on the role of Treasurer, so there is still a vacancy. Tom Locke, Jane Neill, Alan Tutton, Gill Woods, Helen Green and Andy Higgitt were re-elected to the Committee.
At the conclusion of the business section, the winner of the Tony Jerram Award was announced as Will and John Dallimore. As a tribute to Will, who died on 27th December 2024, his film about Doug Deep (first aired at the AGM in 2013) was shown.
After a short break, Alan Tutton gave a talk about “Lantern Slides of the Middle Eastern Campaign of WW1”. This was based on a collection of slides made by John William Marston, Ralph Bolland’s stepfather, during his time as a Medical Orderly/Nurse in the Royal Army Medical Corps, during which he nursed in field hospitals and hospital ships throughout the region. The slides, and the notes that accompany them, provide a wonderful snapshot of life in the area over a hundred years ago.
The Chairman's review, the Doug Deep film and the WW1 lantern slides talk was repeated via Zoom the following evening.
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Chairman’s Report 2024 – Review of 2023
February 2024
The 22nd AGM was held as a “hybrid” meeting; 40 members being in attendance in person and 12 via Zoom. Maureen Spinks was re-elected as Chairman, Shirley Tutton as Secretary and Will Dallimore as Treasurer. Tom Locke, Jane Neill, Alan Tutton, Gill Woods, Helen Green and Andy Higgitt were re-elected to the Committee. Ian Gibson stood down and was awarded life membership for his services to the Society.
At the end of the business section, the winner of the Tony Jerram Award was announced as Brian Smith. After a short break, Gill Woods spoke about the Badsey Marriage Banns Register, which she had recently transcribed, and Maureen Spinks gave a talk entitled “Hatches, Matches and Dispatches”.
March 2024
In March, a band of willing helpers spent a morning spring-cleaning the room which we rent at Badsey Remembrance Hall where we store all the Society’s archives, stock of books and display boards.
Garry Smout entertained us to a fascinating talk about three Evesham bands from the 1970s and 1980s – a subject matter which was quite a change from our normal offering. How, in 1982, did separate, independent articles on three bands from Evesham end up in one magazine? One of the bands sung about the town and area and still has interest in the current music press. Another’s debut album charted at number 4. For those of you who were young in those times, it was a chance to remember what it was like before there were no mobile phones and no bypass round Evesham. The talk was repeated on Zoom the following week to a large number of people.
April 2024
Elizabeth Spencer, Vice-Chair of Evesham Abbey Trust and former Head Teacher of Badsey First School, delivered the annual Richard Phillips Memorial Lecture. Elizabeth's lecture, entitled “The Rise and Fall of Evesham Abbey”, covered a brief history of the Abbey and the famous people associated with the Abbey throughout its history.
May 2024
In May, Terry Sparrow spoke knowledgeably about the origin and development of market gardening in Badsey. He began with how market gardening started initially in Evesham, then talked about the reasons for change in Badsey and the development of market gardening from the late 19th century and the resulting population increase. His talk covered details of the crops grown, marketing and the growing of medicinal herbs in WW1.
June 2024
Thanks to Shirley Tutton, we had a successful trip to Tewkesbury. In the morning, John Dixon, President of Tewkesbury Historical Society, took us on an industrial historical tour from the Abbey Mill to Healings and King John’s Bridge. After lunch, members were free to explore the town on their own.
July 2024
Despite a possible risk of rain, the musical soirée which had been planned for some time in the back garden of Alan and Shirley Tutton’s home, went ahead as scheduled, and there was just a short period when the umbrellas came out. The garden proved to be the perfect setting for the soirée with the Chameleon Wind Quintet performing on “the stage” under the new Badsey Society gazebo by the brook, and the audience assembled in tiered seating – the Stalls, Circle and the posh people up in the Upper Circle! We were entertained with a selection of light and popular classical music. Many thanks to Alan and Shirley for allowing their garden to be used for the event and to Helen Green, a member of the quintet, for suggesting the entertainment.
Another successful Badsey Flower Show. Thanks to Jane Neill, the exhibition included a lovely display of WI memorabilia. Many thanks also to Ross Davis and Dave who were extremely helpful at the end of the show in helping to dismantle the gazebos and exhibition boards.
September 2024
In September we had an outing to Berkeley Castle and Dr Jenner’s house. We had a guided tour of the castle, then in the afternoon visited the house where Edward Jenner developed the idea of smallpox vaccination.
David Wood, who once worked at The Evesham Journal, The Worcester News and other local newspapers, talked entertainingly to us about his experiences of working in the newsroom. On one occasion he interviewed Norman Wisdom in the bath!
October 2024
In October Alan Tutton gave a talk entitled “Skeletons in the Closet”, mentioning some of the skeletons in his family history. This was a precursor to the family history event which took place in November.
November 2024
We asked members who had hit a brick wall in their research, to contact us to see if we could sort it out. Research was undertaken by Maureen Spinks, Tom Locke and Shirley Tutton, making use of the various subscription sites which the Society pays for. Ivor Martin, Will and John Dallimore, Penny Christison and Terry Sparrow all got answers to their queries, which were revealed on the night. Due to popular demand, both the October and November lectures were repeated the following week via Zoom.
December 2024
A successful trip to Hereford was organized by Shirley Tutton. We had guided tours of the cathedral and the Mappa Mundi exhibition and the Chained Library. This was followed by a buffet lunch in College Hall with access to parts of the cathedral not normally seen. After lunch there was free time to explore the cathedral further or to visit the Christmas Market.
In mid December, Musyck Anon, an Evesham-based “a cappella” group came to sing early English carols in the church. A total of £130 was raised for their chosen charity, Children with Cancer.
Website
The Badsey website continues to go from strength to strength with many new articles added over the last year. The scope of the articles is wide-ranging, so just go to the Home page and dip into some of the pages.
Farewells
We are sad to record the death of several of our longest-standing members, a number of whom joined the Society in 2002. Our sincere condolences to all their families.
- Graham Haines (1936-2024) was Badsey born and bred. He was the youngest of four children of Albert and Stella Haines and grew up at Glebe Farm (demolished in the early 1960s – houses on the west side of Willersey Road now stand on the spot). His mother died when he was just two years old and his father was left to bring up a young family on his own. Graham attended Badsey Council School and then Blackminster. He died suddenly on 22nd February, aged 87.
- Roy Page (1931-2024), who died on 29th March 2024, aged 92, often described himself as “a bloke from the smoke”. He spent the first 17 years of his life in the east end of London, but Roy can be considered a true son of Badsey. As he says in his memoirs, “A Badsey Man from London”, he felt that he had arrived in paradise when he came to the Wheatleys’ farmhouse, The Poplars, one August afternoon in 1948. Roy fell in love with the village and wrote to his mother at the end of the plum-picking season to say that he would not be returning home. He also fell in love with a local girl, Mary Cook, whom he married at St James’ Church in March 1953. In January 1956, Roy and Mary and their growing family moved into a newly-built house at Green Leys where they remained for the rest of their lives.
- John Hemming (1932-2024) died peacefully at home in Bishop’s Cleeve on 14th April 2024, aged 91. Despite having left Badsey some 67 years previously, John loved talking of the old Badsey people and history and was one of the first people to join the Society, being membership number 13. John was born in one of the cottages at the far end of Badsey Fields Lane, the second son of Francis (Frank) and Dorothy Hemming. He was a pupil at Badsey Council School, then Blackminster. This was followed by National Service in the RAF and then an apprenticeship with Jack Wheatley of Badsey. John married Evelyn Haines in October 1956 at St James’ Church. In 1957 he moved to Bishop’s Cleeve to work at Smiths Industries where he stayed until retirement.
- Peggy Hancock (1927-2024) was born at Broadway and attended Broadway Primary School and Prince Henry’s Grammar School. On leaving school, she worked for the Council, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lloyds Bank. In 1951, she married Geoffrey Hancock of Wickhamford. Their home was in Badsey Lane, Evesham, where they raised five sons. After Geoff’s death in 2005, Peggy moved to a bungalow in Lindsay Avenue, Evesham. Peggy was a founder member of Wickhamford Women’s Institute and a member of Evesham Floral Society and The Stamp Club. She was a keen family historian and an avid collector of postcards and newspaper articles relating to the local area which were kept in scrapbooks. Peggy died, aged 96, at Perry Manor Care Home, Worcester, where her granddaughter worked. She still had a wonderful memory to the end and when her son John read items from the last issue of the Badsey Society Newsletter her comment to one of the items was, “I remember him”. More about Peggy may be read here.
- Barbara Jerram (1931-2024) was born in Cambridge in 1931 but spent the war years with her parents in Scotland (her father taught at The Leys School, Cambridge, which was evacuated to Pitlochry). Aged 18, Barbara married Michael Smout who managed the family farm at the Lenches. Tragically, aged just 26, Barbara was widowed when Michael succumbed to polio in 1957, leaving her with three children under four. In 1973, Barbara married Tony Jerram, a major in the army, and travelled with him to Berlin, Belize, the Sudan and Northern Ireland. Barbara’s youngest daughter was killed in a car crash in 1975. In 1988, as Tony was nearing the end of his military service, they moved to Harrington House when Tony began a civilian job at GCHQ in Cheltenham. They became very involved in village life; Barbara was a great support to Tony when he became the first Chairman of The Badsey Society. After Tony’s sudden death in 2008, Barbara remained at Harrington House where she died on 31st August, aged 92. More about Barbara may be read here.
- Pete Addis (1936-2024) came from a long-standing Badsey family. Pete grew up at Synehurst Crescent. His first employment was at Ted Wheatley’s garage in the High Street. From there he moved to Goodalls in Swan Lane, then Unipart at South Littleton (then called British Leyland) and finally Willmotts the Spectacle Case Manufacturers, Evesham. Pete enjoyed cricket and was one of the members of Badsey Cricket Club who helped build the pavilion. He also enjoyed fishing, playing bowls and skittles. Pete married Ro Gardner in 1959 and had three children. They bought their first house on Willersey Road, then moved to a bungalow at The Poplars where the garden was Pete’s pride and joy. He took a keen interest in Badsey history and was a regular attender at all our events until becoming more infirm. Ro died in 2015. Pete continued living at his bungalow until a back injury necessitated hospital and finally Cedar Lodge Care Home, Offenham, where he died on 18th September, aged 88.
- John Patrick (1936-2025) was born in Glasgow in 1936 and died at Wood Norton on 18th January 2025. John left his native Scotland and moved south to England to pursue a career as a businessman and accountant. His great passions were photography and music. An accomplished double bass player, John spent much of his time in retirement playing music, performing with orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra both in this country and abroad. Indeed, it was John’s love of music which brought John and Judith to The Court in Badsey, as the house possessed a room which was just perfect as a dedicated music room. John and Judith moved to Badsey in 2018 and joined the Society in that year. As well as involvement with The Badsey Society, John was a member of Wickhamford Gardening Club. In 2021, John was one of the volunteers who helped to transcribe the 1921 census. Our sincere condolences to Judith and family.
- Will Dallimore (1949-2024) was a one-off, he has been described by so many people. Will made us laugh and was involved in so many activities both in Badsey and the Vale. Apart from a short time in Aldington as a baby, Will spent the rest of his life at Horsebridge Avenue, Badsey, where the Dallimore family had moved to when this new Council estate was built. After the death of their parents, Will and younger brother, John, continued living at Horsebridge Avenue. Will was a founder member of The Badsey Society and joined the committee at the very beginning. He was Chairman for five years and Treasurer for two years. He was one of the original Badsey website group when it was set up in 2000. For a few years, he then set up www.badsey.org.uk – a community website. A keen movie-maker, Will was responsible for making “The Market Gardener” film, and also involved with the Society’s previous films. He indulged in poetry and was Editor of Community News for several years. A much fuller appreciation of his life may be read here.
In summary
It has been another good year for The Badsey Society. We have a large membership and a healthy bank balance, so we look forward to more successes in the year ahead. I would like to end by thanking the Committee for all their hard work and contributions.
Maureen Spinks, February 2025
2024 Accounts
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Here is a Powerpoint presentation of the Review of the Year:
